Operation: Hot Chick - Week 6

Kung Fu Kick Boxing kicked my ass. Truly.

When I started doing the Bollywood Booty workout (shake, shake, shimmy), I started out doing the entire DVD every time.. and keeping up pretty well, I might add. Thankyouverymuch. (For those of you new to the 'workout DVD' world.. you generally get 3 workouts on any given DVD of increasing intensity, sometimes more if they're short - like '10 minute butt crunchers' or something like that..) So after a couple weeks of doing the Booty Shake once or twice a week (cause I'm awesome like that), I decided to give Kung Fu Kickboxing a go.. Wow.

I managed to get through the 'warm up', the first work out, and a cool down out before dropping dead on the living room floor. I'm glad I got that one.. it makes me work hard.

I also tried the Fat Burning Kickboxing for Dummies out last night. Also a very good workout, but I still managed to get through the whole DVD on the first try. Hopefully it will give me more of an edge on the Kung Fu Kickboxing.. yeah, doubt it.

So on Saturday we went out to run errands.. While we were at it, we stopped by Old Navy so I could get some pants. Now, before you start congratulating me, let me explain..

I got new pants because I'm too fat for the ones I have. Yes. I have gained enough weight since starting to try and lose weight/exercise that I had to go buy fat pants.


Okay, you can laugh now.

Done?

No??

I'll wait..

Anyway.. There are many contributing factors to my frustration and lack of success. First, Jo weaned about a month before I started this endeavor (that was part of why I was suddenly gaining weight to begin with). So after over 3 years straight of lactating, my body is.. adjusting. Lucky me. (Nursing fun fact: Did you know that lactating burns 500 calories a day?)

Second, this is just the way my body does things. I start exercising and watching what I eat. I gain weight. I'm never really very out of shape (I can't be.. I have 5 kids), so my body quickly gains muscle mass, but is not so good in the burning fat department. But it's not usually this bad. See above.

Third, I haven't been exercising enough. I've averaged about 2 times a week.. or less. Between the problems with the Wii, finding time, so on and so forth.. Yeah. But last week I managed to work out 4 out of 7 days (including the past 4 days in a row), so I'm improving.

I'd still rather not be buying fat pants right now.


*****************************************************************

Stats:
Starting Weight: 160lb
Current Weight: unknown
Weight Loss Goal: 30lb
(I have decided to stop weighing myself until my pants start getting looser instead of tighter. My scale and my butt are conspiring together against me.)

Operation Hot Chick - Week 4

Apparently, I'm one of those awesome people who gains weight when they exercise. Lucky me.

So last week, I worked out on Monday and Wednesday and then slacked off until Sunday. I may have snacked a tad more than usual and had a few insatiable chocolate cravings.. but on the whole, I think I did okay.

My scale begs to differ.

My scale is stupid.

I think I might throw it out the window.

Goals for this week:

• less booze (what?? I don't drink that much! I just know it has a lot of calories..)
• more exercise
• less chocolate (wahh!!!)
• no more snacking
• more booty shaking

At least the exercise should be more exciting this week. My other DVDs are supposed to arrive by April 3, so just a few more days of all Bollywood Booty (which is really fun, but I like variety).

*sigh*

Not giving up. This is typical for me. I have hereditary crappy metabolism. But it will right itself soon.. and while it may look like I just gained weight this week, I actually gained and lost. So I'm taking heart that I'm already losing. Hooray.

************************************************************
Stats:
Starting Weight: 160lb
Current Weight: 162lb
Weight Loss Goal: 30lbj

Oh, and here's that 'before' picture for you.. I didn't feel like taking one that accentuates my 'trouble areas'.. so you can enjoy this pose with Ronald McFondle instead. You're welcome.

While you're here, and I have your attention, go check out the post right before (after.. whatever) and enter my first giveaway! Who knows, you might win that awesome package! Go!

Random Tuesday Thoughts: Revenge of the Doritos

Check out Keely. She's rad.

Pardon my dust. J and I have been working on giving my blog an awesome new look.. we're hoping to have it finished up in the next day or two, so if it seems like you see something different every time you visit, or if you see a random ninja or zombie wandering about.. don't worry, they're just the hired help.

"John is the best! Why is John the best? He does not care what people think about him. I mean who doesn't want to pick on him, or make fun of him. He is a pale white John of a John. Sometimes he tries to hide it with facades. One time I saw him in black and another time in pink. Both colors looked great on his pale outside, but I like it when he is nude. Yep, that pal John of mine. He has always been there. We read together, we talk together. Sometimes my dad would call me while he was hanging out with John. He is an all around great pal. He is there for me at all times, after I've had too much to drink, or when I feel sick, he always gives me somewhere to "let it all out" a place to get rid of all the bad stuff.
John that shitter of a friend." -J-

(I suppose I should clarify that 'J' does not stand for 'John'.)

I added a link to my Authonomy page over there ---->
Feel free to check it out. If you're a book lover, I urge you to join Authonomy! It's a great site with lots of talented writers showing off their work! Lots of free reading to be done, and many writers in search of a little feedback and support. Check it out!

Since I bought that booty shakin' workout DVD, I decided it would be best to wait until after the young impressionable ones had scooted off to bed before projecting it up on the wall.. after all, the lady also has a Kama Sutra workout video. No joke. Yesterday I had a case of the munchies and eventually found myself in the kitchen reaching for a bag of cheesey munchie goodness.. it's a mixture of Doritos, Cheetos, Sun Chips, and pretzels. SO healthy. I took the bag back to my chair with me (cause everyone knows it's more fun to eat right out of the bag..) thinking about how I really shouldn't be eating it and my time would be better spent working out.. even if working out just means walking up and down the three flights of stairs in my house.. before I even finished that thought, one of the cute little mini Dorito chips made it's way between my teeth and jabbed me in the gums. Serves me right, I guess.

The kids are watching Scooby Doo right now.. this episode had an alter ego of the Scoob and I just heard Velma come out and say ".. so don't worry! There's no Nasty Doo." Oh, trust me, honey... there's plenty of nasty doo in this house!


KJ just interrupted me to tell me one of his HILARIOUS knock-knock jokes:
KJ: Hey mom, knock-knock..
Me: Who's there..
KJ: Knock-knock..
Me: I said, who's there..
KJ: No, mom.. knock-knock..
Me: oh.. knock-knock who.. hurry up and finish the joke I'm trying to blog here.
KJ: knock-knock fall on the floor.

See? The kid's practically a comic genius. Not.

Yesterday I scared my husband. He came home and thought for sure that I must have murdered one of the kids or something.. I don't know what his problem was.. all I did was make dinner.
But see.. I made Mexican food.
It was basically chicken and rice, Mexican style, in the slow cooker. Anyway, it was so good I thought I'd share the recipe here with you.. cause it's easy.

You'll need:
1 package of chicken (we used thighs with the skin and bones.. I recommend skinning it)
1 jar of your favorite salsa
1/2-1C of water
white rice
pinto beans
medium size flour tortillas

Now, we have a large family so I made a lot. There was about 10 chicken thighs, a whole 16oz jar of salsa, 2 cups of rice, and 1lb of beans.

Get out your slow cooker or crock pot after lunch. Toss in the salsa, chicken, and a little water and stir it up. Turn on your cooker.
Follow the directions on the bag of pintos - I prefer the 'speed soak' method that involves rinsing, bringing to a boil, soaking for 1 hour, draining and rinsing, then simmering for about 2 hours.
Once your beans and chicken are cooked, turn on your oven to broil and scoop the chicken pieces out of the cooker onto a pan. Measure your rice into whatever you're cooking it in (we have a microwave rice cooker), and then scoop the liquid from the cooker out into the rice - double the liquid (so 1C rice and 2C liquid), unless you need more. We usually need more because that's just how our rice cooker is. Get the rice going and pop the chicken in the oven to broil for about 10min, or until it starts to get golden brown on the top. Warm up your tortillas on a plate in the microwave. Serve chicken, rice and beans with a salad and warm tortillas, enjoy!

Last night we spent half our dinner teaching the kids to use their tortillas as utensils after the boys had all made themselves burritos with half their dinner. Amateurs.

Anyway.. am I boring you yet?

Well, make sure you come back on Thursday.. I have a little surprise for you all in celebration of my new site design. It's going to be awesome. Be there.. er.. um.. here.

Yeah.

Operation Hot Chick - Week 3

I'm a failure.

No really.

But I blame my Wii.

It's still broken.

Yeah, the Wii still doesn't work. I'm not real happy about that. I really liked the My Fitness Coach game. As a matter of fact, I didn't realize just how much I liked it until I started trying to find a replacement. I tried the Fitness Magazine build your own video thing.. but it just wasn't doing it for me. I need something that gets my heart rate going, and that one just made my muscles hurt, along with all the other videos on their site. After that, I figured I would have to cave and just get myself a workout DVD. I figured, 'Hey, we have an Amazon UnBox account set up.. and I have this wonderful $5 giftcard awarded to me from the fine people administering the ABNA contest.. I might as well put it to good use, right?' Right.

Sadly, Amazon UnBox (a program that sells digital copies for renting or purchasing and downloading) didn't quite have what I was looking for.. no matter. I found what I needed in their regular store. But I waited.. I figured, 'Hey, I can always get something at the store and then I don't have to wait for it to ship!'

Target has a LAME selection of workout DVDs. Just saying.


That's okay, I can still go back to Scamazon.. I mean Amazon.

I did manage to find this little gem though..

Ballywood Booty, here I come!

I figured, why not? It would give me something to do while my Kung Fu Kickboxing and Kickboxing for Dummies DVDs are shipping.. and it will be fun for J to watch me do! It's a win win really.



************************************************************


Stats
Starting Weight: 160lb
Current Weight: 161lb (I seriously considered lying about this.. what has become of me..)
Weight Loss Goal: 30lb

Life sometimes changes our plans.. and sometimes it's for the better...

Last Saturday J and I planned a date night. Neither of us is quite sure when the last date night was.. just that it was so long ago that we both forgot when it was.

Though I suppose that's not really where the story begins...

I mentioned that we weren't able to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with my family, right?

My father's hometown in southeastern Iowa has many Irish people in it. His family took up residence there only a few generations ago. They came over from across the pond when the railroads were going up along the Mississippi. Yep, my gramps worked on the railroad.

Um.. where was I? Oh yeah. St. Patrick's Day.

There are several parties and events that take place on the weekend nearest St. Patrick's Day in and around my dad's hometown. Including a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner with music from McNamara's Band (a Big Band that my grandfather helped start, he was one of the original members back in his baritone playing days.. or was it tuba? I can't remember now.. my dad sings with them now and a few of my cousins play..). This year there was also a performance at the Grand Theater with traditional Irish music (my dad sang at this too), bagpipes, and my dad's cousin's Irish dance class dancing.

Anyway...

We were all looking forward to going but, unfortunately, my dad came down with the Man Plague a couple days before. Seeing that my father really needed to be able to acquire adequate rest and we were not so interested in bringing home any illnesses involving regurgitation and defecation.. we decided to stay home. Everyone was sad, but we decided to make it an awesome weekend anyway - after all J had taken Friday off! So a date was planned for Saturday night. Our first in... a long time.

We discussed ideas of what we might like to do.. things like dinner, a movie, bowling, and what not.. Well, we planned on taking the kids bowling over the weekend already, so we decided to skip that. Dinner and a movie? Sure, why not. We planned to see Coraline in 3D at 4:30 and then have dinner afterward before picking up the kids.

We dropped the kids off... at 4:30. Oops. We talked about different movies we could see, but unfortunately finding movie showings during dinner hours is rather challenging - are the theaters and restaurants in league with each other on this? I smell conspiracy..

We decided to just head over to Joe's Crab Shack - our chosen fueling station - and have a long leisurely dinner. Can't remember the last time we did that! (geez, you'd think we have memory problems... ginko biloba, anyone?) After that? We figured we'd wander around the mall, maybe get something pierced or inked.. you know, whatev.

Dinner was fun. Well worth missing a movie for.

I got myself a pomegranate margarita with pop rocks. (actually, J ordered it.. he always picks me drink for me.)

J's drink was easier to pick.. we saw they had a margarita that was not only made with Patron, but also with Patron Citron (J's favorite.. in case you want to send us some..) AND it came with a free shaker! 'Hey, we need a new shaker!' Yeah.. ours broke.. don't ask.



'Hey, babe? What's that thing stuck on your head??'

I swear, he'd only stop staring at my boobs when I'd take the camera out. I think he likes me.

Now, we also have a strange habit.. nay, obsession.. with making fools of ourselves acting silly when we're out in public. We do weird things like stick straws on our teeth to make ourselves look like walruses, tell our wait staff that we have 5 rugrats and don't see the light of day very often, take pictures of each other through the evening and put them on Twitter... yeah, you get the idea.






Our waiter was nice enough to not laugh at us. And even allowed us to take his picture.. while he tied on our bibs. I totally did not tell him I would put his picture on the internet.. so if you see him.. um.. just tell him 'Hi'.













Doesn't J look happy? See.. I told you he totally has a crush on me.

Anyway, we ate a TON of food. Then we headed over to the mall to walk off our dinner and look for a piercing pagoda. Never found one. BUT we did find Glow Golf.

When we first started dating.. well, even before that actually.. we used to play a goofy old 1997 mini golf computer game. I'm not real sure who had more wins.. he'd probably tell you it was him, but I'm pretty sure it was probably me. Because I'm awesome. But I teased him relentlessly about the fact that I'd totally kick his ass on a real flesh and blood course.. (did you know mini-golf courses are made with flesh and blood? yeah.. think about that the next time you swing a club..) Which I did. Repeatedly. While we were dating.. and beyond.


Naturally, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to swing some putters at glowing balls. So we stood by the trash can and chugged finished sipping and savouring our Starbucks beverages (hey.. we tend to be tired.. dates generally require an extra dose of caffeine..) and ran madly sauntered casually over to the golf course for a round of put-put.






He totally cheated, by the way. I mean, I still won.. but he was keeping score. I'm actually not sure who's score he cheated on more though, mine or his.. He's such a gentleman.

(But I would have won even if he hadn't cheated.. I think.)





After our rousing round of mini-golf, it was starting to get late. We decided to swing by the Cheesecake Factory and pick up dessert on our way out (our dates don't 'end' when we pick up the kids..) and head back to our sitter's house to pick up the kids. Once slice of pistachio cheesecake and one slice of vanilla bean cheesecake in hand and we were on our way. But not without first TwiPic'ing the 'Ass stance' sign by the pond..

'Need help? Get ASS STANCE!'

And what date night would be complete without asking a random stranger to take a picture of us and giggle at them wait patiently while they try to figure out how your camera works?



It was an awesome night. Even if our Saturday evening wasn't spent celebrating St. Patrick's Day with my kinsmen or watching a 3D animated movie or paying someone to put more holes in my body.. it was well worth all the extra exercise I will have to do to work off the cheesecake and bragging rights on 'I'm still the better putter'.. and some real quality time with my wonderful spouse, remembering all the reasons we love to hang out together.

The End.

And they kick you when you're down! Adding insult to injury, Amazon style..

I was cruising the ABNA forums yesterday (many of us 'losers' are hanging around there in support of the quarter finalists, cause we're nice like that..) and I noticed a thread titled: Haha fooled you! - Didn't actually make the 2000 cut... So I opened it to discover that people had been receiving emails from Amazon/ABNA that were stating they'd received the other poorly written email announcing their excerpt had been reviewed but rejected and they'd be recieving their reviews by ACCIDENT. At first I thought, 'Oh, these poor people.. how aweful..' Then I thought, 'Hm.. I haven't checked my email all afternoon... ... ..oh, shit..' I quickly opened my email and found...

Megan,

We mistakenly sent you a message on Monday stating "Your Excerpt was reviewed by two Amazon Vine Reviewers, however, and their feedback will be made available to you via your CreateSpace ABNA Dashboard in the coming weeks."

We regret to inform you that based on reviews of your Pitch, you were not selected to move forward to the Second Round (Excerpt Review) of the contest. You will therefore not have reviews of your Excerpt posted in your CreateSpace ABNA Dashboard. We sincerely apologize for this notification error and regret any confusion it may have caused.

We hope you will accept a $5 electronic gift card which you can use for any Amazon purchase along with our apology. To use this gift card, place items you wish to purchase in your Amazon cart and begin checkout. Before you click "Place your order", enter your gift code (listed below) in the space provided and $5 will be credited towards your purchase.

Sincerely,
ABNA Admin Team

Now, I thought about just keeping this to myself. After all, it's a little humiliating after my post on Tuesday, to be honest.. But just by the sheer numbers alone of people who received this yesterday (like, we started another thread asking if anyone had not received both.. was there really a 'Top 2000'? or is this some cruel way of telling us they lost our reviews??).. I think Amazon should be the ones that are embarrassed.

And that's all I really have to say about that. Hmph.

*******************************************************************************
The Wii is apparently still broken. Boo.

Thanks to that nice little email up there, I now have to take another look at my pitch before I start sending off queries to agents. Poo.

But hey, I'm quickly climbing the ranks over at Authonomy.com, and that makes me feels real good.. Yup. I'm up to 914 out of nearly 3000 books. See? I am awesome.

My kids just noticed a moving truck across the street..
"Mom, there's a truck!.. a moving truck!"
"Yep, look at that."
"Someone's going to move!.... to America!"
Um.. yeah.

******************************************************************************
Oh, and this guy? He's awesome..


Shh... Don't tell him I put a picture of him in his secret lair on my blog..

Operation Hot Chick - Week 2

The past week has been... interesting.

As you may recall (or not), last week I committed to working out with My Fitness Coach on Wii 6 times a week. My workouts on Sunday and Monday were decent.. and then on Tuesday, my Wii promptly decided to cease functioning.

Awesome.

So between my toddler force-feeding me fruit snacks and Cheeze-Its, pulling every bribe I could to get the kids to go to bed at night so I could work out, and then my wonderful offspring breaking the dang Wii.. I was starting to feel as if my kids were somehow conspiring against me to keep me chubby. Even in spite of the fact that Aidan is always asking me "When will you get back to like you used to be, when you were skinny?" He's such a flatterer, that one. And a real motivator to boot. I'm so lucky.

Well, my darling husband was kind enough to remind me that I can build my own workout video on FitnessMagazine.com (he works for Meredith, the company that publishes that and many other popular magazines). Brilliant! Then I can use our handy dandy projector and do the video just as I would my Wii game.

Wednesday I made my video. I haven't done the work out yet though.. actually I haven't even watched the whole thing, to tell the truth! I know. Shame on me.

Still, I've been more careful about what goes into my mouth over the past week, and have behaved myself pretty well... most of the time..

********************************************

Stats:
Starting weight: 160lb
Current weight: 157lb
Weight loss goal: 30lb






Never fear, friends.. that same wonderful husband has purchased a Wii cleaning disc and has repaired our game console. We are back in business (dang it!). Now, all I have to do is get my game back from the friend I loaned it to.. In the meantime, I shall do some Wii Fit instead. Wish me luck..

Wordless Wednesday

Random Tuesday Thoughts: I am a Russian Spy Named Sylvia.

I whispered that in a lot of ears as a teenager. Just for fun.
"I am a Russian spy named Sylvia.."

I was going to tell you about the secret Russian spy mission that J and I went on years ago.. it involved Jackie Chan and Prince.. and death. But if I told you more than that, I'd have to reach through your computer and kill you. Till you died. So I won't do that. You're welcome. Enjoy living.

So, how y'all doing this Tuesday? I'm doing okay.. aside from, you know, the pain. (No, I'm not talking about some crappy 'womanly' pain or something.. geez.) I'm saying that I'm feeling the burn. Crap. That sounds like code for a yeast infection.. My muscles are sore, okay? Oy.

Yeah, I did some more of that exercise crap last night.. No, I'm not feeling energized (unless you count the extra motivation I'm feeling to lay on the couch and sleep..). But I did lose 2.5lbs! Well, if I can trust my scale anyway.. it's been known to LIE to me. But it said 157.5 this morning.. So there you have it.

The weather is like absolutely ripe for zombies. Just saying. Would not be surprised at all if one started banging on my walls and dropping body parts in my yard... Machete at the ready.



I totally had some stuff I was going to say today, but I forgot all of it. Because I'm awesome. And apparently as soon as I add that Random Thoughts Tuesday button into my post? a big flashing 'Bug the Crap Out of Me' sign starts blinking up over my head. That's what my kids do. Because they are awesome too. Kids are great. You should get some.

I am happy to report that Aidan has officially rejoined the Land of the Learning and gotten over.. whatever it was that was stuck up his butt. The teacher is coming today. I'm glad I have positive news for him.

Speaking of which, I should totally be cleaning my dining room right now and not blogging. But then, my kids should totally be working on math right now and not playing in their room (especially not playing in their room.. it's so filthy it's like a death trap.. Don't believe me? J and I refuse to come in there to tuck them in and give them hugs and kisses. We say goodnight at the door. We're afraid.). I guess it's hereditary.



Yesterday, Kieran says to me: I wish I wasn't alive. I asked him why, and he said: Because all I can think is that when I grow up, I'm going to kill my parents.
Leave it to my kids to go way beyond 'I hate you mommy!' I tell you.. future writers.

At least he's smart enough to keep us around until he grows up. Boy's gotta have someone to feed him. 'I'm married now.. no need for the parental unit.' *Shunk* (that's the sound of him using that machete.. in case you couldn't figure that out.. maybe I should put it away until I actually see a zombie..)

The end.

Operation Hot Chick

Last night, I officially began this thing they call 'working out'. I'm not quite sure I get what all the hype is about. It made me breathe hard, made my heart pound, made my skin leak fluids, and now my muscles are all stiff and sore.. and stuff. Am I doing something wrong? Should I stop? Am I sick?

I might throw up...

Am confused.

I keep hearing all these things about it making one feel 'energized' and 'lose weight'.. I still weighed the same this morning.. and crap, am I tired.

Workout = FAIL.

Okay, okay.. I'll try again tonight.

*******************************************************

Have I mentioned I hate scales?

Current status..

Starting weight: 160
Current weight: 160
Weight loss goal: 30lb

(yep, I really did just put my actual weight on. my. blog. am awesome. hope we can still be friends, now that the mystery is gone..)

How do I get there?


Heh, heh... She said equipment.

We purchased My Fitness Coach for Wii and also have Wii Fit. I have committed to working out 6 days a week for 15-30min with the My Fitness Coach. I may toss in some Wii Fit with J now and then, and of course our weekend walks to the store will count as well. Once I reach 140lb, I plan to get myself a spiffy new suit, join the YMCA and start swimming again. By the time BlogHer rolls around, I'm gonna get me an awesome cocktail dress to celebrate and show off in.


Um... no. Next?

Hey, it's something to keep me busy and keep my mind off of the ABNA Contest.. and hopefully, something good will come of it. Right?


I'd rather be on the actual beach.


I will try to post my 'before' picture soon.. I haven't taken one yet.. not that I'm procrastinating on that at all..

Tacos + Beer = Wii Fit

Last week, we made tacos. Not your 'Taco Bell box' tacos, but real tacos. And when I say 'we' I mean J. I just sit in the kitchen, watch him, drink beer, and look cute. I might even flash him a boob now and then when the kids aren't looking. What? You want good food? Entertain your chef.

Here's what was left after serving all the children and having a couple ourselves.. mmm. mmm. We finished them off today at lunch time. I would have cried, but I know my husband will make more.

Goes nicely with beans and a bag of Dole's Southwest Salad mix (our kids' favorite).

and of course, beer.

So, the husband is quite the stud. Have I mentioned that? Not only does he make a mean taco, he also can make a kick ass website. And? he's athletic too. What more can a girl ask for, right? He has taken advantage of several of the amenities at his place of business, such as: core training class, weight room, and free Taekwondo (spellcheck thinks I'm trying to spell Wonderbra..) classes. He also does soccer outside of work. His soccer career did not begin in his childhood, or even his teens for that matter. No, he started playing soccer when our second born (Kieran, for those of you playing along at home..) was just a wee bairn. Over the years, he's played off and on.. starting his own groups with church friends, playing in pick-up leagues and various indoor venues. He is currently playing indoor soccer.. or, more specifically 'futsol' (I really have NO idea how you spell that..).. or something like that. Anyway, for the first time in all his years playing, I (his lovely wife) actually graced the field with my presence (in other words: he was brave enough to let me and the little 'uns tag along to his game). It was lots of fun. And I even got to watch some of the game! That's him.. in the goal. No, he's not the ball.. He's the big, burly, bearded one with the mad ball blocking skills.

Yes, they did indeed win their game. And only one ball got past my studly man, thankyouverymuch.

So, being that I hate to be shown up, I've decided to get my flabby ass off the couch again and try to shed that last few baby pounds/winter coat. My weapon of choice? Wii Fit. Now, I've actually proven myself before with the Wii Fit.. but well.. we were using a projector (after abandoning our television) last summer/fall and the bulb burned out.. So, I was left hanging. (Don't worry, the kids didn't miss out on their cartoons.. we have an HP media PC which we run our cable tv through.) But, good news folks! We have a replacement projector on the way (one with much cheaper replacement lamps!), and I will no longer have an excuse for my flabbiness!

So, if I'm not around much in the future.. I'm busy trying not to fall off the Wii Fit board.. and if I'm around more than usual.. it means I'm washing away my feelings of defeat with a big tub of ice cream.. or something.

In the effort of full disclosure, I will try to get over my concern about scaring you all away and attempt to post a *gulp* 'before' picture.. or not.